Muir Woods

After a night with Howard and Maia, we traveled across the Bay to stay with Brent, Carli and Shelby's new best friend - Mowgli. It was so awesome to see their new place and spend some time with the two of them. In the afternoon we went to Muir Woods National Park to see the California Redwoods. Just stunning. I had not been since middle school and Jack had never seen these. The Redwoods only grow in two places on Earth and are the world's tallest tress. Shelby passed up her nap that day, so she slept through much of the visit.

Fairytale Town

Once we landed in Oakland and grabbed lunch, the first outting of our holiday vacation was to an attraction called Fairtale Town. It is a children's destination that covers a lot of land and brings a bevy of smiles to young kids. It was a little run down, but a 20 month toddler does not notice that - she just wants to run. I found it so thoughtful that my brother planned this excursion in advance for his niece.  Shelby had her first "hot" (aka very mildly warm) chocolate at the park and experiences a machine-induced snow flurry! Jack was behind the camera this day, so he didn't make it in any of these photos. We had a really nice time and Shelby got in he much-loved time outside.

Joy in Life's Imperfections

I had scheduled an outdoor  holiday family photo shoot early in December, but due to the absolutely frrrreeezing weather we had to cancel. I had intentions of using the images for our holiday cards. We have a pretty nice camera so I thought, "Hey, I will just do it myself." Well, Shelby was having no part in it. At the time, I was really frustrated and nixed holiday cards all together. By the time I finally uploaded all the images, I could truly see how funny they are. So without further adieu - Merry Christmas from the Schenk family :)

She even tried to call the whole thing off and go inside:

And a few without tears and terror....

Santa Run!

Several weeks ago, Shelby and I were accompanied by our neighbors, some friends and several thousand fellow Santas in the annual Great Santa Run benefiting local charity, Opportunity Village. Jack was going to participate too, but he ended up having to work. There are litterally thousands of people dressed as Santa, taking part in either a 5k or 1 mile run/walk. So much fun and so much chaos....and you better not lose the people you came with because it's like a real life game of Where's Waldo. Despite it being about 25 degrees (not kidding), we had a great time!

A New Day

Shelby started a new school this week. So far, so good.  The choice to move her was a tough one for us, but in our heart of hearts, we knew it had to happen. As much as Jack, Shelby and I loved all her dear friends, we were unsatisfied with a few other aspects of the previous school. Her new school is literally around the corner, so there is not much change in the drive time. This place includes meals though, so that is a HUGE time and money saver for me. If I choose to send something special with her, that is acceptable, but for now, I think it's a good exercise in expanding what she eats.

This is Shelby all set to run out the door on day one for school:

 We found this on the door of her classroom on the first day:

And they sent this home with her on her second day:

So far, the reports they send home each day have been much more comprehensive and consistant. My favorite part is the "What I enjoyed today" section. To date, these have been her highlights...

• Day 1: Dancing with Baby
• Day 2: Balanced Bean Bag on my Head
• Day 3: Texture Art, Transportation exploration
• Day 4: Brown paper/Brown crayon coloring, sorting my color

Also, she is doing GREAT with the potty. I am now only buying pull ups. She goes #1 now, almost without fail but still #2's the majority of the time in her britches. It's funny though, because when she started using the potty, she would only go for #2. Anyway, TMI - I know :)

Here's to new beginnings and new adventures!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving has become one of my most anticipated holidays. Because both our families are away, we agreed it's too much (stress, money, vacation days, etc.) to travel for both Christmas and Thanksgiving, so we've opted to make Thanksgiving our own. Best decision ever. We look forward to it each year, aim to top the previous year's affair and have made many memories along the way. This year we did a first-ever fried turkey and hosted Jack's parents for the first time. My neighbor also coordinated a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning too, so that was lots of fun! Below is a mix of photos from the weekend. Turkey trottin', feasting, Bellagio, Ethel M - we were busy!

TRUCKS!

The City of Henderson hosted the first ever "Stroll & Stride" a few weeks ago.  Essentially the city closed down a major road that connects three large parks, so people could walk, bike, stroll, etc as they pleased. To augment the atmosphere they had bands, bounce houses, fire trucks and more!

Shelby was enamored with the big trucks, so we stopped by so Shelby could take a look and flirt with the firefighters. Hey, I don't think I have ever even been inside a fire truck before!!